#7

   

Lourens Smit

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Run like Lourentia who enjoys learning things, Jump like Louw who is always excited to make things and Fly like Flowrens who aspires to make a positive effect on life. What these three names have in common is a specific persona which they go by called Lourens Smit. An individual who believes he is at his best when he is thrown into the unknown, as it is a pit of not only uncertainty and risks but also a well of opportunities.

 

Lourens has a passion for making films and ever since his first blockbuster VHS movie that he watched as a kid, he decided to venture into the world of filmmaking by participating in drama events in high school. But drama was not the only extra curricular activity that Lourens partook in. He was slightly talented in getting into trouble in very peculiar ways. Waiting after school for his parents to pick him up, gave the mind opportunity to explore and led into almost sudden expulsion just of sheer curiosity to get into the school’s network to play computer games. This act led the school staff to believe that Lourens was trying to hack the network for the exam papers, but in actual fact was just an innocent mistake to pass the time. According to Lourens, this incident occurred more than once, and it is with this regular occurrence that he grew into the film genie who he is now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 He started making promotional videos for himself which he described as exceptionally unusual to the rest of the world but very expressive. Performing at an average level in the school with drama, Lourens took an engineering path in life half-heartedly. He still pursued his love for filmmaking in between classes while also working at the campus radio station TuksFM, as a way to procrastinate from his studies which spurred his love for filmmaking even more.

 

Growing with experience and meeting new people along the way, Lourens was able to start not one but three companies with a variety of different personalities. Taking the role as a photographer in his own photography business, being a filmmaker at RunJumpFlyproductions and multitasking in both roles and being a writer at OurFriends.

 

Getting to know Lourens and learning who he is, what he personifies and what he stands for, it is a pleasure to say that he is a great ambassador of uniqueness and weirdness. He exclaims that it is not just fun being different and stranger than others, but also important. He further explained it as a lifestyle which everyone should consider adopting as it is a fantastic way to further explore your strengths and develop your skills and social aptitude.

Major growth is not only expected with Lourens but also in his businesses. Our Friends is already expanding by covering stories of photographers and writers to share their experiences and stories through the eye of the lens. Run Jump Fly is venturing in the area of combining videos by integrating visual storytelling and experiences with bleeding edge technologies. Then finally, Lourens’ own photograpy project, has been given the opportunity to shoot some amazing in great and breathtaking areas. All these projects are on the down-low, unfortunately, but I am sure you all enjoy secret projects and treats as much as I do. So be sure to keep an eye out for these three names.

 

The beliefs that Lourens’ and his companions share is beyond amazement. They believe 100% that they have a social responsibility towards the community and focus on fulfilling that responsibility with the many services which they offer. Doing “awesome in a fun way” as they described it, is the work environment in which these companies run in with the focus of cultivating their ideas in the outer reaches of Africa to be entwined with not only our country but with the continent we share with our neighboring Africans.

 

Getting back to Lourens, it is clear that he is fuelled with not just his passion for his career in filmmaking and the support he gets from his friends, family, colleagues, and clients, but also his bravery of swimming in the deep end not knowing what lies at the bottom.

 

I guess the perspective we are getting here from Lourens’s tale is that change can’t be done without bravery, and bravery can’t be obtained without risks and curiosity for the unknown. Never allow someone to make you believe that making things will get you nowhere, learning things will be a waste of time, and having an effect on a person’s life, no matter how big or small will be in vain. Every step you make creates a path for others to follow and leads to a chain reaction of dreams waiting to be created. I thank you Lourens for showing the bravery of being you and doing what you love, and I urge everyone who reads his tale, to do the same.

 

 

 

Cheers for this week,

WA